Finishers Wanted...

I remember hearing a talk given by President Thomas S. Monson

in which he described the marks of a true finisher.

(read Ensign June 1989)

There are 6 marks of a true finisher:

                         1.  The mark of vision.

                         2.  The mark of effort.

                         3.  The mark of faith.

                         4.  The mark of virtue.

                         5.  The mark of courage.

                         6.  The mark of prayer.

Embodied in finishing a full time mission are all of the above.

A mission takes stick-to-it-iveness.

Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;

Beginners are many, but enders are few.

Honor, power, place and praise

Will always come to the one who stays. 

Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;

Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it, too;

For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile

Will come life’s victories after a while.

—Author Unknown

This week we are proud of these "Finishers"...

Elder Chavez

Elder Tauaese

Elder Toledo

Elder Carillo

Elder Lewis

Elder Ramirez

We celebrated together and then said Good bye to the first group to depart

(they are leaving in shifts this week....more pictures to come at the end of the week!)

So proud of these young men...they are true finishers!!

On a Clear Day...

The New Year 2013 arrived with a perfectly clear day.

(this is quite unusual for this smoggy valley that Cali sits in)

It made me think of the words from the old song

"on a clear day you can see forever"

On a clear day, rise and look around you...

 This is the view from our study window...the sunlight on the trees and flowers was spectacular

 Rarely can you see the mountains on the otherside of the valley...but this day there they were

You’ll feel part of every mountain sea and shore
You can hear
From far and near

And to the other side we could clearly see that we are being watched over

On a clear day
How it will astound you
That the glow of your being
Outshines every star

That is exactly how I feel about this group of zone leaders...they astound me as does the office crew that continues to keep our missionaries going...

 We keep receiving packages for missionaries and are trying to get them out!

It is CLEAR that they have families who love and support them!

It is CLEAR to me that these missionaries have a CLEAR vision of who they are.

And these words to the song ring true...

And who would ever guess what powers you possess
And who would not be stunned to see you prove
There's more to us than surgeons can remove
So much more than we ever knew
So much more were we born to do
Should you draw back the curtain, this I am certain
You'll be impressed with you

As we watch people change their lives and receive a CLEAR understanding

of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and who they are

It is at the waters edge...on a Clear day when we can see forever into eternity!

The Joy we see here is CLEARLY the reason we keep sharing the gospel message

 of HOPE and LOVE...

On a Clear Day you can see forever!

Oh, the places you will go...

 A Visit to Cristo Rey
“You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!” 
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

A tour of the Cali Futbol (that's soccer) Stadium

 

for our favorite soccer player! 

“Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.” 
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Next to the Plaza de Toros and the Velódromo

(cycling is 2nd to futbol here in Colombia)

 Plaza de Toros

Pres Prince with Ramon...our friend and driver who took us to see all the sports sites!

“You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. 
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.” 
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

A quick stop to take in the view from San Antonio

a quaint OLD section of town

Then lunch at Siga La Vaca...

Oh...the places we went!!


The end has come...
...God be with you 'til our next great fun!

see you in 18 months big Steve!!  We love you!

The long and winding road...

...that leads

...to Buenaventura

We went to Buenaventura to help with a Branch training on the new church curriculum for youth,

"Come Follow Me," and to help with an open house that was planned for that night.

After arriving at the Chapel and unloading all the packages and goodies for the Elders,

we tried to start the Explorer and the battery was dead!! 

 (at least it didn't happen on that long road!)

A good neighbor came to the aid with a set of jumper cables.

  We went directly (did NOT pass go) to the shop to get a new battery.

 Elders Aldunate and Welling

Steve and Marcie happy to be almost done!

And happy to check into the hotel where they hung out while we went to do training...

...someone got the best end of this deal!

They did successfully take a taxi and join us at the chapel for the open house.

I was impressed as the interacted with the members and guests 

and stretched their spanish skills.

It is hard not to love these great saints.

They had about 123 in attendance and about one fourth were non-member guests!!

 The Buenaventura Elders

Elders Chase, Alfonso, Hogan, Aldunate, Borg, and Welling

Seeing Buenaventura all lit up in Christmas lights...beautiful!